Do It Gorgeously: How to Make Less Toxic, Less Expensive, and More Beautiful Products (34 page)

2.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk up the dressing ingredients.

3.
Pour the dressing onto the bean salad and gently toss. Chill. You can keep up to 4 days in the fridge.

Tricolore Pasta Salad

I love this salad so much that I eat it at least once a week. It makes a hearty and delicious lunch.

Yields:
2 servings

1.
Combine the oil, vinegar, garlic, sugar, and seasonings in a large bowl and whisk.

2.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and gently toss with the dressing.

3.
Transfer to a large container with a lid and store up to 3 days in the fridge.

Homemade Pita Bread

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love pita bread. It’s so versatile and just delicious when warmed and drizzled with a little fruity olive oil. It’s easier than you think to make and far more delicious than the store-bought kind.

Yields:
approximately 16 pita breads

1.
Dissolve the yeast in the water. Add 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour and let the mixture stand until it gets bubbly.

2.
Mix the flours and salt in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture and enough water to make a stiff dough.

3.
Mix with your hands and knead until the dough is smooth.

4.
Cover with a clean dish towel and let it rise in a warm spot until it’s doubled in size (about 3 hours).

5.
Punch the dough down and divide it into small 3-inch balls.

6.
Preheat oven to 500°F. Roll out the balls on a floured surface.

7.
Bake pita breads one batch at a time on a greased baking sheet until the bread puffs up (about 4 minutes). Flatten with a spatula. Remove from the oven and cover with a clean dish towel until you’re ready to serve them.

8.
They will keep 4 to 5 days in a sealed bag in your breadbox, or you can freeze them for up to 1 month.

Classic Italian Pesto

This is a basic basil pesto that can be used for many different dishes. You can drizzle it on soups, pizzas, or baked potatoes, or the classic way—on pasta. In the summer I make buckets of it with fresh basil from my garden.

Yields:
4 to 6 servings for pasta

1.
Place all the ingredients except the salt in the blender and whiz it up until it forms a thick paste. You should still be able to see tiny pieces of the pine nuts. If it’s too thick, add a little more olive oil.

2.
Add a little salt just before serving. You want to avoid adding salt before, as it can darken the bright green color of the basil.

3.
You can add a few arugula leaves or 5 or 6 sundried tomatoes for variety.

4.
The pesto should keep for up to a week in an airtight container in your fridge.

Toasted Almond Pesto

This is a great variation on the regular basil pesto that we know and love. I like to add a dollop of it to almost any soup. It’s also delicious when mixed with a little mayo for your salad or sandwich.

Yields:
4 to 6 servings for pasta

1.
Put all the ingredients in your food processor and blend until it forms a thick, crunchy paste.

2.
Add a little more olive oil if it’s too thick.

3.
Store in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 1 week.

Fresh Garden Salsa

Who doesn’t love a fresh, homemade salsa? The great thing about making your own is that you can customize the spiciness.

Yields:
approximately 1½ cups

1.
In a bowl, combine green pepper, celery, tomato, onion, carrot, cilantro or parsley, and diced tomatoes.

2.
In a separate bowl, combine water, tomato sauce, garlic, jalapeño, lemon juice, lime juice, and black pepper. Stir into vegetable mixture.

3.
Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Garlic and Parmesan Potato Chips

Buying organic, gourmet potato chips can be quite expensive. You may not realize that it’s really easy to make your own at home. If you bake them, instead of deep-frying them, they won’t be as greasy.

Yields:
2 servings

1.
Ideally, use a mandoline to slice your potatoes. You can use a really sharp knife, but either way, you want to try to create extremely thin (
¹
/
₁₆
inch) slices.

2.
Rinse the slices in a colander under cold water and pat dry with a kitchen towel.

3.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the potatoes in a large bowl with the olive oil and garlic salt. Use your hands to coat each slice.

4.
Lay the slices out evenly (in a single layer). Bake for 15 minutes or until crispy brown.

5.
Sprinkle the warm chips with the cheese and sea salt, then carefully transfer them to a serving bowl.

Crispy Coconut and Chocolate Protein Bars

These are my favorite bars/snack because they contain every nutrient I need for optimal health and they are simply delicious. It’s a good idea to spend some time gathering the ingredients that I recommend, as once you have them, you’ll be able to make quite a few batches. The brown puffed rice is sold in bulk by Nature’s Path Organic (www.naturespath.com) so it’s very budget-friendly. You can also find puffed rice in bulk bins in health food stores—just make sure it’s unsweetened.

Yields:
10 to 12 bars

1.
Preheat the oven to 325°F.

2.
Melt the coconut oil, brown rice syrup, and molasses in a small saucepan over low heat.

3.
Mix all the other ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the syrup mixture and combine really well, making sure that each puff of rice is coated.

4.
Press into a 9x9-inch baking pan and place in the center of the oven for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. The bars will keep up to 10 days in a sealed container.

Make Your Own Dairy

Ricotta Cheese

I make a lot of Italian recipes that require ricotta cheese. It’s expensive to buy and easy to make. Ricotta, drizzled with a little honey or agave syrup and a pinch of grated lemon zest or a handful of summer berries, makes a satisfying dessert.

Yields:
approximately 1 pint

1.
Rinse the cheesecloth in cold water, squeeze out excess moisture, and set it in a double layer over a large colander in your sink.

2.
Place the milk and buttermilk in a large pot on your stove on a low heat. Stir continuously to prevent the milk from burning on the bottom of the pot. When the temperature has reached 100°F (you have to use a thermometer for this), stop stirring and allow the milk to continue cooking for 10 to 15 minutes more, or until curds start forming on the top of the milk. When the milk reaches 175°F, turn off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.

3.
Use a slotted spoon to scoop up the curds and place them in the cheesecloth-covered colander. Let the curds drain for 10 minutes.

4.
Gather the cheesecloth around the curds and tie up the bundle with a rubber band. Hang the bundle from either your faucet or the arm of a ladle set across a cooking pot. Leave the ricotta to drain 45 minutes.

5.
Empty the ricotta into a container with a lid. It will keep in your fridge for up to 4 days.

Yogurt

The taste and texture of my homemade yogurt is so good that I cannot eat the store-bought kind anymore. Homemade plain yogurt is terrifically tart, so it pairs well with sweet, crunchy granola and fruit. I also mix it into mayonnaise to make a lower-fat mayo, and add it to soups and chili instead of sour cream.

You will need a yogurt maker. I love the Yogourmet, which comes with all the accessories you’ll need, from Lucy’s Kitchen Shop (www.lucyskitchenshop.com). It’ll cost you less than a pair of jeans and will make you and your family
exquisite yogurt for years. It comes with a plastic container, but I prefer to use glass.
^*
I recommend purchasing an extra
glass
container when you buy your kit. It also comes with a box of Yogourmet freeze-dried starter powder.

You can follow the directions that come with the yogurt maker. However, having made gallons of the stuff with a little trial and error, here’s what I’ve found works best.

Yields:
1 quart

1.
Pour milk into a large saucepan and heat until a thermometer reads exactly 180°F. Be careful not to let it boil over.

2.
Remove from the heat and set the pan in a sink filled with cold water to speed up the cooling process. Make sure the water level comes only halfway up the pan.

3.
Test the temperature after 10 minutes. When it reads 110 to 112°F, ladle about ½ cup of milk into a measuring cup. Empty 1 5-gram package of the powder starter into the cup and whisk to make sure it’s dissolved and well combined. Pour into the large glass container.

4.
Pour in the rest of the cooled milk.

5.
Add lukewarm water up to the bottom marker line in your yogurt machine and set the glass jar inside.

6.
Plug it in and leave it for approximately 8 hours to transform into yogurt.

7.
Transfer the container to your fridge and chill for at least 8 hours before eating. It will keep for up to 3 weeks in the fridge.

Butter

Homemade butter melting over steaming buckwheat pancakes is a taste that you will never ever forget. You may remember shaking up cream in little jars to make butter at school—this is a similar method, minus the elbow grease. You’ll need a standing mixer (if you don’t own one, borrow one), unbleached cheesecloth, and a quart mason jar.

Yields:
3 cups of butter

1.
Pour the cream into the mixing bowl and begin mixing on high. You will begin to witness a few transformations: You will see whipped cream, then this will turn into lumpy curds in a watery liquid, and finally, the curds will clump on the beaters, leaving the buttermilk in the bowl.

2.
Transfer the butter from the beaters into a large piece of cheesecloth and squeeze out the remaining buttermilk. Squeeze hard, because you want to get out as much buttermilk as you can.

3.
Discard the buttermilk from the mixing bowl and replace it with the butter. Add 1 cup of cold water and begin mixing again.

4.
Repeat the rinsing process by pouring the watery butter mixture into the cheesecloth and squeezing out the excess water. Repeat once more or until the water runs clear.